Nonprofit helps family find home adapted for disabilities

Christine Sands, right, helps her daughter Kathy Sands with a drink at their home in South Austin on Friday, July 23, 2015. The mother and twin daughters, all with disabilities, live in a home that is equipped to fit most of their needs. (Stephen Spillman / for American Statesman)

For Linda and Kathy Sands and their mother, Christine, it’s the little things in their home that make the difference.

The 48-year-old twins have cerebral palsy, a disorder that impairs control of movement due to damage to the developing brain, and spend most of their time in modified hospital beds in their South Austin home. Linda is talkative, with a good sense of humor, but Kathy’s disorder is more restrictive and her movement is limited to gestures with her arms.

Christine, 77, has cared for her daughters their entire lives, but suffered a series of mini-strokes in 2007 that made it difficult for her to continue taking care of them. The family now relies more on a professional caretaker, and with the help of Accessible Housing Austin, a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities find affordable and accessible housing, moved into a home that better fits their needs four years ago.

The 48-year-old twins have cerebral palsy, a disorder that impairs control of movement due to damage to the developing brain, and spend most of their time in modified hospital beds in their South Austin home. Linda is talkative, with a good sense of humor, but Kathy’s disorder is more restrictive and her movement is limited to gestures with her arms.